STARKVILLE, Miss. — The LSU track and field team advanced well in preliminary action on day two of the SEC Outdoor Championships at W.O. Spencer Stadium Friday evening, while picking up their first points of the competition in the men’s and women’s hammer.
Georgia and Arkansas lead the men’s competition after three events, while Arkansas sits atop the women’s competition. The Lady Tigers are in fifth place after two days, while the Tigers are tied with Auburn for sixth place.
“We advanced very well today and had a very productive day overall,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “We got some good performances from our hammer throwers and got on the board in the team scoring. Tomorrow we’ll try and step it up another notch LSU opened the day with a trio of solid performances in the hammer, as Javier Nieto placed third in the men’s competition, while Candice Gonzalez and Mallory McDonald both scored in the women’s event.”
Nieto finished third for the second straight year with a throw of 200 feet 1 inch, while Gonzalez placed fourth in the women’s event with a throw of 179-5. McDonald finished seventh with a mark of 175-3.
The Lady Tigers won four heats of the 200-meter prelims but got only two athletes into Sunday’s final in the event. Stephanie Durst posted the top qualifying time of the evening, clocking a time of 23.05 while Muna Lee came up with the third fastest overall time at 23.27.
Ronetta Smith and Lolo Jones each won their respective heats of the preliminary round but did not advance to the finals.
Durst and Lee will battle to become LSU’s ninth 200-meter champion in the last 14 years.
Robert Parham advanced to the men’s 200-meter final, placing second in his section with a time of 21.00. His time was the sixth fastest of the qualifying rounds, as NCAA champion Justin Gatlin of Tennessee set the pace with a blazing time of 20.24.
Marlon Greensword came up with a significant season best time in the 800-meter run to qualify for Sunday’s final, posting a time of 1:49.38 as 10 runners dipped below the 1:50.00 mark in qualifying.
The men’s intermediate hurdlers looked strong, as Lueroy Colquhoun and Bennie Brazell, ranked 1-2 in the nation heading into this weekend, both advanced.
Colquhoun, the NCAA leader in the event hit the seventh hurdle and stumbled momentarily, but still finished second in his heat to grab an automatic qualifying spot for Sunday’s final with a time of 50.62.
Brazell easily won his heat, looking very strong as he pounded out a time of 50.68 to give the Tigers two strong threats for the final. LSU has not had a champion in the event since Regan Nichols in 1996.
In the women’s 400-meter hurdles, Doria Appleberry and Althea Thomas both advanced to Sunday’s final, each finishing third in their respective heats.
The SEC Outdoor Championships pick up steam on Saturday with a majority of the preliminary action on the track, as well as several field event finals.
Walter Davis will attempt to win his second consecutive long jump title.